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Chapter 473: Faceless

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Everything around him was like an illusion. The colors were saturated and superposed as they quickly receded.

As soon as Klein came to his senses, observed, and experienced this wonderful passage, he felt Mr. Azik's hand which was holding his hand tremble slightly.

Before he could even react, he felt a strong sense of weightlessness. His body couldn't help but plummet as he even began spinning.

The colors of red, yellow, white, and black around him faded rapidly, and Klein fell, hitting the solid ground hard. The impact left his head spinning and his internal organs churning.

Mixed into his vision were bits of golden stars as his vision was restored to normal. To his left was a bottomless dark valley that resembled the legendary Devil Abyss. On the right was a gray stone wall that continued to extend upwards, as if supporting the entire region.

There was no sun, no clouds, and no fog. Some light came from the luminescent moss growing in different places, and darkness and heaviness were the primary tones of this "world."

Klein pushed himself up with his left hand and nimbly jumped up. He found that the ground beneath his feet consisted of properly paved stone which could accommodate two horse carriages traveling in parallel. It was definitely not naturally formed.

One end of the road spiraled down into the dark crevices, while the other led to the top. From time to time, it was possible to see the domed hallways and halls inside the walls.

Klein raised his head, but he couldn't see the highest point. His vision was completely blocked by the gray stone wall.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany. He and Mr. Azik had "fallen" underground, into the ruins of an ancient civilization.

Is it another area, or are we still near Backlund? As soon as Klein thought about it, he heard Mr. Azik say in a low voice, "Leave here first. Head up."

Ah? Before Klein could understand the meaning behind his words, he saw a flash of light from the side, instantly forming an illusory door that opened outwards.

The door seemed to be made of bronze. It wasn't real enough, but it was unusually heavy. On the surface, there were countless strange patterns and indistinct symbols.

With a creak, a crack appeared in the door. Pale, bloody arms reached out from the crack, one after another. In addition, there were also greenish-black vines with baby faces and sleek tentacles with protruded eyes.

It's very similar to the effect of Miss Sharron's mystical item… While he was in thought, Klein noticed that the arms, vines, and tentacles were no longer as crazy as before. They had calmed down and stuck to the ground, completely unlike their former appearance of madly pulling a Sequence 6 Zombie into the door.

Immediately after, the gap between the doors widened, and a human figure emerged from it.

The figure wore a pure black clergy robe, and his facial features were clear and distinct like an ancient, classical sculpture.

His hair was dark gold in color, his eyes were dark blue, and he had a high nose bridge. He wore a bonnet which was popular with the elderly, and his sideburns were somewhat gray in contrast to his middle-aged appearance.

Looking at the figure's completely lifeless eye, Klein suddenly recalled the name of the person who had just arrived.

Ince Zangwill!

The former archbishop who had directed the Tingen incident and dealt heavy damage to the Nighthawks team, as well as being the owner of Sealed Artifact 0-08!

Almost at the same time, Klein turned around and, following Mr. Azik's instructions, fled towards the top of the road.

He knew full well that being a Sequence 6, he would only serve to be a burden and distraction in a clash between demigods.

In this race for time, false modesty and pretentious words were unnecessary. They would harm both him and his companion!

Tap. Tap. Tap. As there was nothing he could ignite underground, all Klein could do was grit his teeth and run as fast as he could. While running, he heard Azik's calm, gentle voice.

"Run all the way out of here.

"Don't worry about me. I've recalled a lot of things, and I know that I once remained in a particular Sequence for a very long period of time. That Sequence's name is Undying."

Tap. Tap. Tap. Klein circled around the cliff and entered a dark domed corridor. The walls on both sides were engraved with mottled murals.

At that moment, he heard a dignified and hoarse voice reverberate from where he previously was.

"Teleportation is prohibited here!"

A figure had arrived beside Ince Zangwill without anyone noticing. He was floating in midair in defiance with the laws of physics. He wore a gorgeous gold mask.

And Ince Zangwill didn't attack immediately. Instead, he glanced at the bend where Klein's figure had disappeared.

Sequence 4 Nightwatcher of the Church of the Evernight Goddess's pathway could grant a certain amount of bad luck to others, but Ince Zangwill, who had just silently "blessed" Klein, realized that things like Klein slipping and falling into the ravine didn't happen.

Not only that, Ince Zangwill seemed to be hallucinating as well, as he saw a thin, grayish-white fog.

Without having the luxury of time to think, he withdrew his gaze and cast it back to Azik Eggers.

Tap. Tap. Tap… Running at full speed, Klein suddenly stopped in his tracks. His spiritual intuition told him that there were people ahead of him⁠—Beyonders! They were most likely the guards here!

After contemplating for a bit, he reached out with his left hand and wiped his face. At the same time, crisp sounds emitted from his body as his body grew seven to eight centimeters taller.

By the time his left palm left his face, he had turned into a single-eyed middle-aged man with dark golden hair and a high nose—Ince Zangwill!

Recalling the other party's demeanor, Klein used an illusion to change his clothes before quickly walking around the corner and entering a large hall.

There were four guards in dark black armor, their gazes keen.

Klein's face was calm as he walked over. He deliberately spoke in a hoarse voice and sternly said, "Someone has sneaked in here. I'm looking for him.

"Did you discover any clues?"

The leader of the guards first examined him before lowering his head and saying, "Mr. Zangwill, nothing happened here."

"Okay." Klein nodded slightly, walked past them, and left the hall.

During this entire process, although he remained highly nervous with his back drenched in sweat, he appeared to be calm and reserved. He looked no different from Ince Zangwill, be it his appearance or his aura.

Relying on his Faceless powers and his running speed, he quickly passed through three checkpoints and arrived at the end of the building.

There was an illusionary door formed by pure ghostly-blue light. Apart from that, it was completely sealed shut.

Although he was worried about the demigod battle between Mr. Azik and Ince Zangwill, Klein remained hidden in the shadows outside the room. He patiently spied for a while and found that someone had passed through the ghostly-blue light while another person had used it to leave.

He noticed that those who left had to show something that looked like a badge before they could get permission from the four guards to enter the door of light.

I don't have time to wait for the next person with a badge. I can only take the risk… The battle over there could end at any moment… Even if doesn't, the search order will be sent over here quickly… Klein quickly made his decision, once again walking into the room with the likeness of Ince Zangwill.

"Something has happened outside." He had no confidence in mimicking the former archbishop's voice, so he could only express himself with deliberate hoarseness as an indication that he had experienced an intense battle.

The guards who were left confused by the news didn't react until Klein approached them. They reached out their hands to stop him.

"Mr. Zangwill, where is your pass?"

"Don't waste any more time!" As he spoke, Klein pulled a badge from his pocket and thrust it into the man's hand.

This calm performance made the rest of the guards relax.

The moment the guard who had received the "pass" looked down, Klein suddenly lunged forward!

Just as he landed on the ground, he quickly did another roll and went straight through the ghostly-blue door!

Only then did the guard realize that the badge in his palm had rapidly faded, turning into a piece of paper.

On the top left of the piece of paper, there was a rather commonly seen blessing recently: "Happy New Year!"

…

The abyss-like crevice was filled with an illusory, pitch-black liquid. Moreover, the surface of the water was still bubbling without stopping, and many pale-skinned arms were wildly extending outwards.

Ince Zangwill had a general idea of Azik's standards, and he was neither surprised nor afraid, for he had a demigod to help him at the moment.

What worried him the most was another problem. 0-08, which was forcefully developing the story, could backfire on him at any moment.

At that moment, he swept his gaze past the corner of his eye and was shocked to find that the quill, 0-08, had left his pocket without him realizing it. It was floating in front of the gray rock wall, fervently writing lines of words.

"… In a fierce battle, there would always be a variety of accidents, such as Ince Zangwill's belt snapping and having his pants drop."

…

The ghostly-blue light filled Klein's eyes, constructing a passageway that overlapped with layers of light between the deep darkness and the roaming invisible creatures.

Klein didn't bother to observe his surroundings as he scrambled to the end of the passage.

He stood up, straightened his clothes, restored Ince Zangwill's stern expression, and stepped into the rippling screen of light.

After a moment of being mentally adrift, he found himself in another room, which was also occupied by quite a few guards.

"Something went wrong underground, keep an eye out. Do not allow anyone entry," Klein calmly instructed, walking towards the door at an unhurried pace.

"Yes, Mr. Zangwill!" the guards replied respectfully.

At this moment, the guard from before passed through the ghostly-blue light and shouted loudly, "There's a problem with that Zangwill from before!"

Everyone turned to look at the door, but Klein was nowhere to be seen.

Tap. Tap. Tap. The guards immediately split up into several groups to search in every direction for their target and notify their companions. The scene momentarily turned rather chaotic.

One of them had just rounded the corner when he saw Ince Zangwill's back.

Subconsciously, he pulled out his sword that coruscated with lightning and performed a forward cleave.

Oof!

The figure floated away weightlessly and became a splintered paper figurine.

At the same time, two loud bangs could be heard. Pale golden bullets passed through the visor that wasn't pulled down and accurately hit the guard's head.

Before he could even cry out, the guard collapsed to the ground with a thud, convulsing.

Klein stepped out of the shadows in the corner and expressionlessly slipped the revolver back into his underarm holster.

After burning the paper figurine, he quickly dragged the guard to an empty room and changed into black armor, switching his appearance to the fallen guard.

Then, he picked up the lightning sword and left the room, closing the wooden door behind him and running forward in a "panic."

He was going to notify every guard along the way that there was a problem with Ince Zangwill!

Chapter 474: Edessak's Story

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Inside the solarium of Red Rose Manor.

Edessak Augustus stood by the full-length window, looking at the indifferent Trissy with a gloomy face, and he said in a voice that was like a volcano about to erupt, "Why did you run away again?"

Trissy looked past him and beyond the window, chuckled, and answered with a question, "Did you see the meteor shower? Did you feel the trembling of the earth?"

Behind her, porcelain and other items in the cabinet had fallen onto the thick, soft carpet. The old butler, Funkel, was standing beside her.

"It's not too rare for that to happen," Edessak replied in a low voice.

Trissy raised her eyebrows slightly.

"You are very dull.

"Then let me be frank with you. I am a Demoness!"

Prince Edessak's expression didn't change at all. He turned to the old butler and said, "Guard the door and prevent anyone from entering."

"Yes, Your Highness." Funkel gave Trissy a cold look and walked out of the solarium.

When he heard the door close, Edessak exhaled slowly.

"Trissy Cheek, heh, you prefer to be called Trissy.

"I know you're a Demoness. The person who helped you purchase the Beyonder ingredients failed. What you received was provided by me!

"I don't mind that my princess consort is a Witch or a Demoness. I've even seen your wanted poster!"

Trissy was surprised at first, but she then revealed a mocking smile.

"You sure know a lot…

"Did you know that I was once a man, and that my real name is Tris?"

"… What?" Edessak's eyes widened, and he tilted his head a little, as though he couldn't believe what he had heard.

Upon seeing this, Trissy couldn't help but laugh. She laughed so hard that she frantically bent back and forth like a lunatic.

"Haha, you didn't make a mistake. I was once a man! I used to be like you, and the thing down there was longer and thicker than yours! However, the Witch potion had forcefully changed my gender!

"Are you disgusted? Does it give you goosebumps?"

She vented the words she had been repressing all this time before taking two steps forward.

Edessak instinctively retreated, his Adam's apple moving involuntarily.

"No, it's not like that… You're a real woman. There's no problem. I can definitely confirm that!" He mumbled to himself, then he raised his voice and said, "From the moment I met you, you were a real woman. I don't want to know what you were like in the past! I can pretend that nothing like this happened! What I like, what I love is the present you!"

Stunned, Trissy raised her hand to wipe away her tears of laughter.

"You're a really pathetic man.

"Do you still not understand? Our meeting wasn't a coincidence. Even your interest…"

She paused in disgust and continued, "Even your interest in me was a result of someone else's arrangement. Don't you think that everything happened too quickly? I believe in love at first sight, but I don't believe that it possesses such powerful bewitchment properties. You act like the main character in a third-rate romance novel, becoming obsessed with love from just one meeting. You fell in love with a stranger, forgetting the type of person you once liked. That's crazy!"

Prince Edessak's eyes went blank as his eyes turned agape, but he didn't speak.

His body suddenly swayed, as if he had finally awoken from a long dream.

"Y-you are indeed my type… But my reaction, it's r-really too exaggerated…"

The corners of Trissy's mouth curled up, and she turned her head to the side to let out a sneer.

"What a pathetic man, to have what you like being arranged by someone else. It's like you're a puppet on strings.

"Don't you understand? You're a person that can be sacrificed, and I, as well as being a hostage for the cooperation between the royal family and the Demoness Sect, am also a necessary disguise for this deception.

"I possess an important item of the Demoness Sect, and under your strict supervision, I can be destroyed at any time and result in the loss of the treasure. This is the sincerity of our cooperation, and once the matter is exposed to the other three Churches or the military, the development of this matter will be very simple. Prince Edessak secretly kept a Demoness due to his lust. After knowing of his heinous sins, he shoots himself in the mouth. Then, all the problems would be covered up."

"No!" Edessak blurted out.

Then, with a twisted expression, he asked, "Why are they cooperating with the Demoness Sect?"

"How could a hostage who might be abandoned at any moment know?" Trissy gave a self-deprecating laugh. "That's the whole reason behind why I want to flee."

She lowered her head and chuckled in a low voice. Her body trembled slightly from the laughter.

After a few seconds, she raised her head once again, curled the corners of her mouth, and said, "What do you want to do with me? Strip me down and throw me onto the bed? No, you've probably formed a psychological resistance. Actually, I don't mind giving you some warmth right now. It's not a shameful thing for two poor people to comfort each other."

Prince Edessak darkened his rotund face and looked at Trissy silently for nearly a minute.

Suddenly, he closed his eyes, pointed to another side and said, "You can leave.

"Leave through that door."

Trissy raised her eyebrows in astonishment.

"You're letting me go?"

"Yes." Edessak turned to look out the window and slowly replied, "I'll stop Funkel. As for whether or not you can escape from the other pursuers, that will depend on your own strength and luck."

A dazed look flashed in Trissy's eyes a few seconds before she quickly ran towards the hidden door.

Before leaving, she couldn't help but look back.

"What about you?"

Edessak didn't turn his head, but he continued to stare out of the full-length windows as if searching for the shadows of his past.

He smiled and said, "Me? Let me live in this beautiful story and welcome its final end⁠—good or bad."

Trissy took a breath and, without further ado, went through the secret door.

…

In a quiet room inside Saint Samuel Cathedral.

One of the thirteen archbishops of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the person in charge of the Backlund diocese, Saint Anthony Stevenson had received an urgent telegram from Earl Hall's residence.

This bearded old man with deeply recessed eyes had an extremely clean appearance. Even though he wore a black and red archbishop's robe, he didn't give off a gloomy feeling.

However, anyone who faced him would shudder from the bottom of their hearts. It was as if their spirituality was dominated by fear, or as if they were facing an unknown existence lurking deep in the darkness which stared back at them.

Trissy Cheek… Primordial Demoness… Saint Anthony lightly patted the paper and immediately stood up.

The light around him suddenly vanished, as if swallowed up by the gloom of the room.

All the worshippers in the cathedral instantly felt the coming of night.

Everything quickly returned to normal as Saint Anthony appeared in front of the Chanis Gate beneath the cathedral.

Today, the one leading the team was the Spirit Guide, Daly Simone.

Without waiting for her to ask, Archbishop Saint Anthony instructed in a deep voice, "Make preparations. The process shall begin. I'm awakening a Sealed Artifact."

He wanted to use 0-17.

He wanted to use that terrifying Sealed Artifact to confirm and deal with the Trissy matter.

And this was the only Grade 0 Sealed Artifact stored outside the Holy Cathedral. Only two of the Church's upper echelons knew that it was in the Backlund diocese.

"Yes, Your Grace." Daly was startled for a second, then she immediately responded.

While waiting, Saint Anthony closed his eyes as a portion of 0-17's information surfaced in his mind.

"Number: 17.

"Name: XXXXXX

"Danger Grade: 0. Extremely Dangerous. It's of the highest importance and of the highest confidentiality. It is not to be inquired, disseminated, described, or spied.

"Security Clearance: Pope, Team A researchers, and Archbishop of the Backlund diocese (Note: When the archbishop is transferred out of the Backlund diocese, the corresponding memories have to be wiped out using Sealed Artifact 1-29).

"Sealed Method: The seal is completed through the combination of 1-29 and 1-80.

"Description: This isn't an item.

"This is a living angel.

"'Her' appearance is beautiful with black hair and eyes. Looks like a young woman, but 'Her' actual age cannot be estimated.

"…'She' doesn't have the wings recorded in canon. Just from 'Her' appearance, 'She' is no different from an ordinary person.

"… She does not have the ability to think and has lost all sentience.

"… Anyone and everything that comes close to 'Her' will completely disappear… Through divination and other methods, it can be confirmed that they're still alive but are impossible to locate. Currently, 1825 methods have been attempted, with every one of them failing.

"…0-17's range of influence will expand and contract without any pattern. Currently, it has caused more than 70 researchers to vanish."

…

"Warning: 'She' cannot be used!"

"Appendix 1: This Sealed Artifact first appeared in the Pale Era of the Fourth Epoch.

Exact year: Missing.

Exact date: Missing.

Exaction location: Missing"

"Appendix 2: Based on the information, 'She' has been awakened five times."

…

By passing on the message to search for the Ince Zangwill imposter, Klein, with the help of divination, overcame the interference of the Master Key and ran all the way to the exit given to him from the revelation.

He knew very well that with a carpet-style search, the corpse in the empty room would soon be discovered, so he had to race against time to get to the exit.

A Faceless's powers should be matched with a mystical item that can destroy corpses and clean up my tracks… Having gained true knowledge from practice, it didn't take Klein long to cross the checkpoints and patrolling teams before he arrived at the exit where the divination pointed him to.

However, what made him even more surprised was that there were no guards here, only a heavy stone door standing there by itself.

What's going on? Why is there no one guarding the exit? Was my divination misguided, or are the guards outside? As his thoughts raced, Klein found a corner and took off his armor, restoring his lightweight and agility.

Then, he came to the stone door that opened outwards and groped his way to the corner of the left wall.

After carefully checking with a gold coin, Klein took out the ancient bronze key. He leaned it against the wall and gently twisted it.

Water ripples appeared as they spread out slightly. Klein silently passed through the wall, without taking the door!

The first thing he saw was the natural light that fell from the dome, which meant that this place was really an exit.

Klein carefully stood motionless as he quickly adapted to the light. He saw neat but mottled gray stones under his feet and thick pillars in front of him.

In the middle of the hall, four hooded figures knelt around what appeared to be an altar.

Soon after, Klein heard a soft but gentle female voice.

"Mr. A, are you ready?"

Chapter 475: Lady Despair

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Mr. A? Mr. A of the Aurora Order? Klein, who had intended to cling towards the walls and shadows and proceed towards the door, shrank back silently.

Ince Zangwill should be working with some faction of the royal family… Those who are able to excavate and hide such a large underground ruin near Backlund must be one of the main powers in the Loen Kingdom…

With Ince Zangwill and 0-08 participating in this matter, the Church of the Goddess can be ruled out. Although the people of the Lord of Storms are a bit reckless and male chauvinists, it's unlikely that they will work with the Demoness Sect. At least until now, there have been no Beyonders who appear to be of the Sailor pathway… In the same way, the Church of Steam and Machinery aren't likely suspects…

Even the Aurora Order is involved? What are they trying to do?

Klein leaned his back against the wall and slowed his breathing, thinking and listening to the conversation in the middle of the hall.

After a short period of silence, a hoarse voice sounded, "It's done."

The answer was so concise that Klein couldn't make out what they were planning.

The melodious and pleasant voice from before laughed in a low voice, "You don't seem to trust us very much?"

"That's right," Mr. A answered bluntly.

"Heh heh, then I'll be frank and describe our goal and why I'm seeking your cooperation." The gentle female voice didn't sound angry at all. "We've done certain things and left behind clear traces. Before we're discovered by the Churches of Evernight, Storm, and Steam, as well as the military, we must do the corresponding cleanup, and this requires your help. Yes, it seems like you don't really understand what I mean, so let me give you an example. Imagine—Imagine you performed a heinous crime like murder in a house, so what's the best way of eliminating any evidence and clues?"

"There's no need for that. It's our goal to have others witness such an act," Mr. A said indifferently.

… As expected of a member of the Aurora Order… They're all a bunch of lunatics…Klein made a preliminary identification of the speaking man to be "Mr. A" who had killed the Intis Ambassador.

"… Suppose it were me, not you." The clear, soft female voice had a faint wheezing sound.

After a second, Mr. A. replied, "Burn that house and bury all the clues there."

The clear and gentle female voice had a smiling tone.

"That's exactly what we planned. I'm in charge of 'committing arson,' while you can use this opportunity to go with this development to create a passageway or vessel, so as to allow your Lord to descend upon this world.

"And the only price you guys have to pay is to bear all the infamy and gain the most enmity from the military and the three Churches. But I don't think you would mind that."

"As long as we can welcome the return of the Lord, even if we're abhorred by every single force, we won't show any sign of cowardice." Mr. A's tone no longer appeared indifferent and distant.

Arson? The Aurora Order will take this opportunity to complete the ritual for the arrival of the True Creator? This is probably the third time… Why did I bump into this again… What a f*cking bad twist of fate… Klein couldn't help but curse inwardly in Chinese.

At this very moment, he was extremely curious and wary against the things that were plotted by this particular royal family faction, Ince Zangwill, and the Demoness Sect. It was terrifying enough to even use the descent of the True Creator as a scapegoat!

Perhaps they've kept some cards up their sleeves and will eventually destroy the Aurora Order's ritual in the end and destroy all the other factions except themselves…Klein calmly thought while feeling tense.

"It appears like you have no other questions," said the gentle female voice. "This place is sufficiently well-hidden and can be used for the required set-up. You can do your ritual here at ease and won't need to worry that it'll be interrupted before you succeed. As for the things outside, we've already finished our preparations a long time ago. It's just waiting for the ignition of a 'spark.' If you still have doubts, then you can make another round of checks."

Just as Mr. A was about to speak, Klein heard a dull thud. It was the sound of the door opening.

"Who permitted you to enter? Didn't I declare that no one is to approach this area?" The gentle female voice suppressed her rage.

"Lady Despair, there's an emergency! Someone has infiltrated the basement! The higher-ups sent me to arrange for a follow-up and close the corresponding passages," a male voice with a distinct Backlund accent responded very quickly.

The so-called "Lady Despair" maintained her silence for a few seconds, as though she was communicating with an unknown existence to confirm the situation.

Finally, she said without changing her tone, "Go back inside. Don't come out again, nor allow anyone out. Wait until further notice."

"Yes, Lady Despair!" The man ran towards the stone door, with a heavy thud sounding in the background.

From the place where Klein was hiding, he could clearly see the stone door leading to the back area. He waited for seven or eight seconds before a figure of normal height and build appeared.

Phew… The man took a deep breath, stretched out his hands, and bared his teeth as he pushed open the heavy stone door with a ferocious expression.

In that instant, Klein had completely taken in the man's appearance and characteristics without missing a single detail. This was the Beyonder power of a Faceless!

That man's skin was reddish-brown, and he was clearly of Southern Continent descent. His facial features had no special characteristics, making it difficult to remember him.

Due to him gritting and baring his teeth, he revealed a portion of his teeth. The third tooth on the upper left of his mouth flickered with a golden light. It was a fake tooth.

This… Klein, with the spiritual intuition of a Seer, frowned as he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Very quickly, he used his skills to recall the source of his familiarity.

The Hanged Man had once requested the Tarot Club members to find a man with reddish-brown skin and a thick Backlund accent who had the third tooth on his left missing.

The man's name was Baelen, and he was involved in the escape and disappearance of many colonial island slaves!

And at this moment, the man in front of Klein was almost identical to the Baelen that was described by The Hanged Man!

The disappearance of the colonial island slaves…

The many tribes of the Southern Continent vanishing into thin air…

Baelen's appearance here…

Capim, who took a large share of the underground slave trade, was protected by four Beyonders suspected to be of the Arbiter pathway. Among them, the strongest was a Sequence 6, and even a Sequence 5…

Capim constantly targeted relatively innocent girls in his abductions…

The passing of the Grain Act, the improvement of the textile machines all resulted in a large number of people losing their jobs…

Many female textile workers silently left East Borough after receiving new jobs, not leaving any clues…

The scattered dots instantly formed a line in Klein's mind, pointing directly into the depths of the earth!

What are they up to, that they need such a large number of people, as well as so many pure and innocent girls? A ritual? An extremely terrifying ritual that takes a very long period of time while being held in secret? Klein's pupils suddenly contracted.

Creak… Bang! The stone door closed and Baelen disappeared from his sight.

The hall was silent for a few seconds before Mr. A's deep and hoarse voice rang out again.

"I smell an accident. Let's begin. We need to hurry before it arrives."

Lady Despair responded slowly, "That's exactly what I was thinking.

"But I need you to send me to East Borough."

East Borough? Klein had a bad premonition.

"No problem," Mr. A answered with a lack of emotion.

Under the hood, a transparent and blurry book appeared in front of him. Accompanied by a distant and indistinct chant, he said, "I came, I saw, I record."

The book quickly flipped open and stopped at one of the pages. Soon after, it began to emit a light blue and illusory light.

The light enveloped the white-robed Lady Despair, causing her figure to blur at first, then becoming indistinct.

In an instant, Lady Despair saw countless indescribable silhouettes. She discovered lustrous brilliances which contained the bright and pure splendor of endless knowledge at the highest point.

Her body was being dragged forward by a strange force as she rapidly tore through space. Not long after, she left her original spot and arrived at a secluded, uninhabited, and filthy corner of an alley.

She pulled down her veil to cover her face and looked up into the sky. The afternoon sun had once again been obscured by clouds and fog, turning pale and dark.

The light yellow fog wasn't particularly thick, and it sank down to every corner of Backlund, giving off a slight choking sensation amidst its coldness and moisture.

It's a pity that the haze didn't reach the point when it's in its worst and calmest state… The accident that happened to Trissy, the sudden and temporary loss of control over 0-08, the appearance of Azik, the destruction previously caused by Dark Emperor, these had complicated matters, garnering the attention of others. It forced the operation to be brought forward to today… Lady Despair surveyed the area, walked out of the alley, and into the streets.

Her steps were slow, as though she were wandering in a sea of fog.

Wherever she passed, the fog would unnoticeably thicken. Tinged with an iron-black color, it silently lowered the range of one's visibility.

As she left the street, a sallow-faced tramp in an old jacket suddenly coughed violently and fell to the ground.

The two poor people close to the tramp retreated in horror, and then they covered their throats with their hands as they gasped for air. It was as if they were suffering from severe lung disease or bronchitis and could no longer breathe.

A haze which was a mixture of iron-black and pale yellow colors descended upon East Borough, the dock area, and the smoke-spewing factory district as it continued to spread throughout Backlund.

Various scenes in the distance were "drowned," and even the towering clock tower was only a pale shadow. One by one, workers and poor people felt the discomfort as they fought against the cold, and the disorderly tramps fell one after another in the woman's wake, their lives as fragile as the bubbles formed during laundry.

Lady Despair's expression was calm and gentle, as though she were finishing a work of art.

Like an ordinary person, she walked among the pedestrians as she chuckled and said in a low voice, "The Loen Kingdom's history will remember this day.

"The Great Haze of Backlund."

…

The dark valley had been completely covered by the black, incorporeal water, but 0-08 didn't stop writing.

It fabricated ridiculous and terrifying stories wherever it could land its tip on.

"… The dropping of pants didn't affect Ince Zangwill's performance, because he was wearing a long robe, perhaps having anticipated a similar accident…

"The Imperative Mage stunned Azik Eggers in the spot, robbing him of his two most powerful Beyonder powers at the last moment — truly a great assistant in every meaning of the word. However, the stacked door of the spirit world and the Underworld were attracted by Azik's characteristic. It began being stirred by the powers of their battle, causing unpredictable changes.

"At that moment, an unknown existence was attracted, resulting in 'Him' passing by. 'He' took this opportunity to extend his hands into the real world. Oh no! 'He' caught Ince Zangwill!"

In midair, two bloody arms which were covered in squirming flesh suddenly appeared behind the clergyman-robed Ince Zangwill!

They caught Ince Zangwill's shoulders, dragging him into the void and into the spirit world.

Chapter 476: The Straw Men

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Light suddenly faded from where Ince Zangwill disappeared, staining the area with the richest and deepest darkness.

In the darkness, the sounds of melodic chanting could be heard. It was quiet and tranquil, hypnotic even. Even the countless pale arms flailing upwards underneath the pitch-black water seemed to slow down, no longer as frenzied as before, as if they had won redemption for their souls.

In such a "dark night," a figure walked out. It was none other than Ince Zangwill who had just been dragged into the spirit world.

Compared to before, he had lost the bonnet on his head. The clothes on his left shoulder were tattered, and a piece of flesh had been torn off. Faint yellow pus bubbled out one after another.

His eyes were no longer indifferent, but filled with pain, as if he was suffering some unimaginable torment.

The 0-08 quill continued writing.

"Some might feel regret, while others might rejoice. Ince Zangwill had the umbilical cord of the evil god which came from the baby in Megose's womb. It was from the True Creator, and through the umbilical cord, he successfully escaped from the restraints of the unknown existence and forcefully returned to the real world, but as a result, he had lost that mystical item. In addition, he would suffer the ire of the evil god's spawn from having failed to descend for a short period of time.

"This made his strength appear like some kind of commodity in a department store during a change of seasons, with only 55% left. Yes, this number is extremely accurate."

…

In a street in the depths of East Borough.

Old Kohler hurried back to his rented apartment, carrying some ham in a paper bag.

He looked around warily, afraid that those ravenous wolves around him would pounce on him and steal his New Year's gift.

He had seen wolves back when he was still in the countryside, but to his surprise, he was able to experience that familiar feeling in Backlund.

It's still too expensive. I can only split the cost with someone else and cut it into pieces… This is enough for the new year holiday. I can eat two slices of ham for every meal. Three slices, no—at least five slices of ham. I can cut some of them off and stew them together with the potatoes. I don't even need to add salt… With this in mind, Old Kohler looked at the ham in his arms, seeing the white spots mixed in with the red meat, his throat couldn't help but twitch and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

As he walked, he felt the fog around him grow thicker. The cathedral's clock tower that was still relatively clear in the distance was gradually swallowed by a mixture of iron-black and pale yellow colors. Even the pedestrians around him were reduced to blurry shadows once they were ten steps away.

Old Kohler suddenly felt like he has been forgotten by the world as he raised his palm to cover his nose.

"Why does the fog smell so bad today?" he muttered, and he quickened his pace.

One step, two steps, three steps. Old Kohler felt his face heat up and his forehead start to burn.

His chest tightened, his throat felt uncomfortable, and soon he was experiencing difficulty breathing.

Have I fallen ill? Damn it, I still want to have a good new year's, and now I can only send my savings to the clinic or hospital… No, perhaps I'll be fine with some sleep. I'll be fine sleeping with a blanket over me! Old Kohler silently muttered to himself as his head grew hotter and hotter and his senses became more and more muddled.

Gasp. Gasp. Gasp. He heard his own labored breathing, and his hands went limp as the bag of ham fell heavily to the ground.

Old Kohler instinctively bent down to pick it up, but he ended up falling to the ground.

He held the bag of ham and tried to keep it in his arms.

At this moment, he thought there was thick phlegm rushing up his throat, blocking it, so he fought back, making panting sounds.

Thud! Old Kohler began to see, through his blurry vision, that a few steps away, someone else had also fallen and was gasping for breath. He was about the same age as him, in his fifties, with white sideburns.

Suddenly, he understood that he was about to die.

It reminded him of his own wife and children, who, like him, suddenly got infected with the plague and died shortly after.

It reminded him of the time when he had been hospitalized. The patients in the same room were still chatting and laughing that night, but they would be sent to the morgue early the next morning.

It reminded him of the friends he had known as a tramp, many of which had disappeared over the course of the winter until they were found stiff under a bridge or some spot which was sheltered from the wind. A small number died from suddenly having food.

This reminded him of the days when he was still a decent worker, when the neighbors in the neighborhood would suddenly die like this. Some of them died from headaches, some of them died from accidentally falling into molten steel, some of them died from all sorts of painful, bloating ailments. Some of them even collapsed silently in the factories, one batch after another.

This reminded him of what he had heard from a drunk in the bar when he was scrounging for information.

"People like us are like straw on the ground, falling when the wind blows. It's even possible to fall on our own even without the wind."

The wind is coming… Old Kohler suddenly had such a thought.

He clutched the bag of ham tightly as he groped the pocket of his old jacket for the crumpled cigarette he had always been unwilling to smoke.

What he couldn't understand was why his healthy body would suddenly become ill. It wasn't like he had never experienced such a dense fog before.

What he couldn't understand was the reason for him suddenly collapsing just as his life was back on track, moving in a direction that was sufficiently nice for him. Furthermore, he had been paid in advance by Detective Moriarty to buy his long-awaited ham for the new year, and he was looking forward to tasting it.

Old Kohler fished out that crumpled cigarette, but he no longer had the strength to lift his arms again as they slammed heavily to the ground.

He used the last of his strength to shout out the words that had been building up inside of him, but he could only let the frail words linger at his mouth without producing them.

He heard his last words.

He heard himself ask, "Why?"

…

In an apartment at the edge of East Borough.

Liv hung up the last piece of clothing she had washed and waited for it to dry.

She looked at the sky outside, somewhat unsure of the time due to the thick fog which had appeared without her realizing it.

"Anyway, it's still early, and we've already done the laundry…" Liv's expression grew heavy.

It wasn't a good thing to finish work too early. This meant that they could rest, but it also meant that they didn't have enough work which would imply inadequate income.

Liv took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at her eldest daughter, Freja, who was wiping her hands and casting her gaze towards the vocabulary notebook in the opposite room.

"It's almost New Year's. Most of our clients have left Backlund and have gone on vacation elsewhere. We can't go on like this. We have to find new work."

As she spoke, she walked towards the door.

"During this period, the rich will host banquets one after another. They definitely won't have enough servants and might hire temporary kitchen cleaners. I plan on inquiring. Freja, you stay at home and pick up Daisy when the time comes. We need income, but so do the thieves, bandits, and human traffickers of those prostitutes to welcome the new year."

In the East Borough, every woman, who didn't work in the factories, had to be skilled or aggressive enough in order to survive.

Freja answered briskly, "Alright."

Her mind was already on the desk and vocabulary notebook next door.

Liv had just opened the door when she stumbled and fell to the floor.

Cough! Cough! Cough! She broke into a violent coughing fit as her face flushed red, with every joint in her body experiencing an unbearable ache.

Freja ran over in panic and squatted beside her.

"Mother, what's wrong with you? Mother, what's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing. Cough, I'm fine." Liv began to find it harder to breathe.

"No, you're sick—sick! I'll take you to the hospital immediately!" Freja tried to help her mother up.

"It's too expensive, too… expensive. Cough—Let's go to a charity hospital. A charity hospital, I can wait. It's n-not a big problem." Liv gasped a response.

Freja burst into tears and her vision blurred rapidly.

But at that moment, she felt her lungs burn, and her body went limp as she fell to the ground with Liv.

"What's the matter with you, Freja? Cough! You're sick too?" Liv shouted anxiously. "There's money, cough—in the closet, cough—in the hole in the wall. You have to be quick. Go to the hospital! Get a good—a good doctor!"

Freja tried to say something, but not a sound came out from her mouth. Her eyes slanted up to the door beside her.

It was their bedroom, their bunk beds. On top of it was her favorite table and her vocabulary notebook.

Her body suddenly began to twitch.

Liv's coughing stopped.

Within the public elementary school at the edge of East Borough, the fog still wasn't thick yet, but many students had already started to cough.

The experienced teacher on duty immediately ordered, "Quick, to the cathedral. We need to head for the cathedral next door!"

Daisy stood up in a panic and ran with the crowd to the cathedral next to the school.

Suddenly, her heart palpitated as she felt the horror of losing something important.

… Mother… Freja. Daisy turned her head sharply, wanting to rush home against the crowd.

However, she was stopped. She was caught by her teachers and forcibly dragged towards the cathedral.

Daisy struggled and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Mother! Freja!

"Mother! Freja!"

…

In East Borough, the dock area, and the factory district, the old or those with latent ailments collapsed in the fog in succession like felled trees, while those who came into contact with them felt as if they had been infected by the plague. They died quickly, and even the able-bodied adults and children also felt slightly unwell.

In their eyes, the light yellow and iron-black fog was like the descent of Death.

On the Tuesday of the last week in 1349, Backlund was shrouded in haze.

…

In the corner of the hall, Klein pressed himself against the stone wall so that he wouldn't be discovered by Mr. A.

Soon, he heard muffled groans and could smell the scent of flesh and blood.

"Give up your lives for the Lord," Mr. A's voice suddenly sounded.

Thud. Thud. The sound of figures collapsing entered Klein's ears, and a strong spirituality fluctuation appeared and constantly reverberated.

Mr. A sacrificed his four attendants? Just as this thought appeared in Klein's mind, illusory layers of weeping sounds could be heard. Some of them were calling out for their mothers, others coughing violently, and some moaning in pain.

As half of an expert at mysticism, Klein seemed to see a series of disgruntled and transparent figures entering the ritual one after another, followed by the years of numbness, despair, pain, and resentment from the dock area, factory district, and East Borough.

Has it officially begun? Klein closed his eyes and leaned his back against the wall, his right hand clenching and relaxing.

For him, the best thing to do at this moment was to slip out of the hall and flee into the distance while Mr. A was concentrating on the ritual.

His right hand loosened and tightened before relaxing many times in a row.

Seven or eight seconds later, Klein opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling upwards in an exaggerated manner.

He reached out his hand to grab the revolver, turned around abruptly, and dashed out.

Dressed in his black double-breasted frock coat, he raised his right hand and aimed at the altar.

Chapter 477: The Many Considerations of The Fool

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The first thing Klein saw was the altar, which was surrounded by layers of light, and the tall, thin figure standing in it.

The figure took off its hood, revealing a beautiful, devilishly feminine face, with a left chest, shoulders, abdomen, and thighs all covered in squirming, sticky, disgusting flesh and blood.

His surroundings were filled with illusory, transparent shadows that brimmed with feelings such as numbness, despair, pain, and depression.

Beyond the altar, the four figures which were praying had fallen. Their skin was shriveled, and their bones were tightly wrapped, like corpses that had been eroded for many years.

At the top of the hall, rays of light pierced through the air, quickly entering the altar through the stone pillars, floor, and air that were filled with symbols and magic labels.

As soon as Klein emerged from his hiding place, Mr. A opened his eyes and looked in his direction.

His pupils were dyed with blood, and an extreme madness was contained within his cold eyes.

If it were any other Beyonder, they would've subconsciously looked away, not daring to look him in the eye. But Klein, who had faced the Eternal Blazing Sun and met Blasphemer Amon, wasn't afraid of this. Calmly pulling the trigger, he sent a silver demon-hunting bullet engraved with many patterns flying towards the altar.

Witnessing this scene, Mr. A subconsciously wanted to raise his hand, but he stopped in the end. He watched indifferently as the silver bullet drilled into the layer of light surrounding the altar.

Silently, the patterned demon-hunting bullet melted and disappeared under the layers of radiance, engulfed in untold resentment and negative emotions.

In the end, it completely disintegrated, leaving not a single trace of it behind.

Klein's pupils shrank as he shot the rest of the revolver's bullets. The pale golden purifying bullets and the bronze exorcism bullets shot out, piercing through the radiant barrier one after another.

However, they disintegrated in the same way and disappeared without creating the slightest ripple.

Mr. A laughed hoarsely.

"It's no use, puny worm. The ritual has already officially begun, and with your strength, it cannot be broken or interrupted. Even if you're a Sequence 5 Beyonder!

"But you're also fortunate. You will live to witness the coming of our Lord, and be integrated into his body."

With that, Mr. A. ignored Klein and closed his eyes again, as if he was indeed nothing but a puny worm.

The Shepherd raised his hands in a gesture of open arms and shouted out in ancient Hermes, "The Lord that created everything;

"The Lord who reigns behind the curtain of shadows;

"The degenerate nature of all living things.

"Your devout believers pray for your coming;

"I am willing to offer my body as a vessel to bear the burden of your great will!"

Amidst the prayers, a light from an unknown source appeared above Mr. A's head, completely enveloping him.

The grievances and negative emotions that were gathered around Mr. A surged into his body like a tidal wave.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Klein snapped his fingers repeatedly and used Flame Controlling, trying his best to attack the altar, but they still couldn't resist being disintegrated against the barrier of light.

What can I do? All my other mystical items are above the gray fog. To take them out, I need to hold a ritual, which would waste at least a minute or two, and a body without protection would be very dangerous… What should I do? Klein rationally stopped his attempts and stood there, his mind racing.

Furthermore, whether it was the Sun Brooch, the Biological Poison Bottle, the All-Black Eye, or the Dark Emperor card that raised his level, none of them seemed capable of breaking through the altar's barrier!

Is waiting for Miss Justice's call for reinforcements the only thing I can do? Or do I just watch helplessly as the True Creator descends? Klein tensed up, his thoughts rapidly flying through his mind. He quickly considered the corresponding strategies.

As he considered each and every item on his body, his palms unconsciously broke out in cold sweat.

Suddenly, he thought of something!

Without having time to think about the consequences, he reached into his pocket and grabbed something that felt metallic.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Klein took a few steps forward, jerked his arm hard, and threw the object in his palm at the altar.

With a flash of bronze, the object entered the barrier of light.

It was an ancient, simple key.

It was the Master Key.

Within the barrier of light, the brass Master Key began to decompose and melt.

And when its outer shell disappeared, the curse that was hidden within it appeared, connecting to the unknown area where Mr. Door was.

…

In Empress Borough, the opulent villa of Earl Hall.

Audrey stood by the full-length window and worriedly looked into the distance.

She saw that the fog on the horizon was gradually thickening, turning a pale yellow that was dyed iron-black as it slowly spread in her location.

"There's something wrong with that." The huge golden retriever, Susie, sat beside her and also looked at the commonly seen haze.

Yes, I hope it can be stopped in time… Audrey didn't know what the fog represented. She silently prayed to the Goddess and Mr. Fool that "They" wouldn't let the Primordial Demoness descend.

Suddenly, she noticed that the branches outside the window were beginning to shake and the glass was slightly rattling.

A wind is coming… Audrey felt inexplicably happy.

Cherwood Borough, Holy Wind Cathedral.

Terrifying storms that were visible to the naked eye suddenly appeared outside of it, and then they surged towards the east in an unimaginable hurricane.

Whoosh!

The thick, accumulated fog was blown away, and the rich yellow and iron-black colors quickly faded away.

Whoosh!

Dried branches fell to the ground as dust and dirt rose into the air, following the fog into the distance.

Whoosh!

Many of the pedestrians had their hats separate from their heads, and their bodies swayed so much that they had to hold onto trees or walls.

The sailors in the dock area felt as though they had returned to the port city and were witnessing a typhoon.

The smoke in East Borough and the factory district thinned, and the healthy population felt relieved of their slight discomfort.

Boom! Boom!

Lightning leaped and thunder rumbled.

They soon subsided, and a downpour began to cleanse the land.

"The Church of the Lord of Storms reacted rather quickly this time… It also has to do with us bringing the operation forward and not being fully prepared… Heh heh, those in the middle-class and the tycoons would've shared the same fate in this Great Smog as the commoners if it wasn't for the respective protection they received. They would all be lambs waiting to be slaughtered…" Lady Despair sat on a rental carriage as she leisurely heard the pattering of the rain on the glass windows.

Even though her plans had been ruined in a timely manner, the haze from before had caused more than 20,000 deaths according to her calculations. Furthermore, there would be the subsequent spread of the plague.

With this, I've pretty much digested most of my potion, but this is just a benefit I received as a matter of convenience… With large numbers of the population being wiped out, all this points to the Aurora Order and to the True Creator; no one could guess what the royal family really plans on doing… It's time I leave, along with the True Creator… Lady Despair thought while in a good mood.

Her whereabouts were kept secretive, and she had taken care of everything beforehand; therefore, she didn't have to worry about being surrounded by Backlund's demigods at all.

By the time they found traces of her, she would already be far away from the city!

Just as the Lady Despair was about to leave the carriage, her vision blurred and she saw a figure appear before her.

The figure sat across her. It was a young woman in a hooded classical robe, with black eyes and hair, and a beautiful but dull face.

…

After throwing out the Master Key, Klein held Azik's copper whistle, then he held his breath and waited for the results.

If things failed to develop as he imagined, with the altar's barrier remaining intact, he planned on using Azik's copper whistle to see if he could get any help from the messenger.

If that still failed, he would go above the gray fog and use all the items like the Dark Emperor card. He had to attempt every possibility until the very last second!

At this very moment, there was no crimson moon, let alone a clear full moon since it was afternoon. Therefore, Klein didn't have enough confidence in the curse contained within the Master Key, and he only hoped that the disintegration effects of the altar's barrier would threaten its very existence and cause it to react instinctively, such as communicating with Mr. Door in reverse and transmitting its cry for help to "Him."

In just a second or two, Klein saw the Master Key disintegrate into the smallest particles of light and an illusory, distorted crimson.

The crimson quickly faded as it struggled and then suddenly exploded!

In an instant, Klein lost his sense of hearing. He saw the countless figures formed from resentment and indignation all raise their heads and scream.

They rapidly transformed, tinged with a blackish-green, and grew a second skull, a third eye, or even a fifth leg…

They converged into a torrent and surged into Mr. A's body.

Mr. A suddenly opened his eyes, shock and disbelief evident amidst his indifferent blood-red eyes.

Soon after, the radiant layer of light surrounding the altar warped and collapsed.

Boom!

A huge explosion spread out from the center of the altar, setting off a terrifying storm.

Crack! The four thick stone pillars closest to the blast instantly crumbled, and the distant Klein only had enough time to duck and roll before he was sent flying by the shockwave.

Bam!

He hit the wall, flattened into a thin sheet of paper.

The subsequent wind quickly tore apart that thin piece of paper, scattering it in every direction.

Klein himself appeared in the corner, using the walls to withstand the ensuing shockwave.

The destruction caused by the Master Key exceeded his imagination!

The curse that had been forcibly melted away really did have an instinctive reaction, as it transmitted Mr. Door's roar, and the voice of this forsaken entity, who was at least at the level of an angel, contaminated the resentment and numbed the despair needed for the ritual. As a result, the altar lost its balance and embarked on a path of self-destruction!

The moment the blast calmed down a little, Klein rushed out to confirm the results.

The illusionary figure and oppressive feeling in the air had already vanished, leaving behind scattered remnants of the altar.

Mr. A had his body leaning forward as he knelt by a collapsed pillar. He was missing an arm, half a face, and a number of organs. His remaining eye was filled with bone-deep hatred.

However, his wounds were quickly covered with squirming flesh.

After that single glance, Klein didn't hesitate to run.

For him, he had achieved the ultimate goal of foiling the True Creator's descent. If he didn't leave now, was he, a Sequence 6, going to share a dinner with the Shepherd, Mr. A, to welcome the new year?

Chapter 478: Grade 0 Sealed Artifact in Operation

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The moment she saw the stranger appear in front of her, Lady Despair materialized a sharp, crystalline ice spear and threw it at her target.

Using the force of the recoil, she attempted to break through the back of the carriage and into the street.

With regards to this sudden turn of events, she was puzzled at this strange enemy who suddenly appeared. On the contrary, she was very confused and perplexed as to how someone could find her concealed self so quickly. It was no less difficult than destroying a large city, or teleporting directly from Backlund to the Southern Continent of East Balam.

But as a Sequence 4 Demoness of Despair, she had developed herself one step at a time from when she was an Assassin. She knew that she couldn't afford to be distracted or spout nonsense at such critical moments. It wasn't too late to think about all these matters later.

Therefore, she chose to attack directly and wanted to take the opportunity to leave.

She could already imagine how the strange woman with black hair and eyes would be frozen in the layers of sparkling light left in the frosty wake of the ice spear's trajectory. She would have to struggle to break through the obstruction in order to have the strength to chase after her.

By then, she definitely would've escaped from the street and blended into the crowd.

However, the scene she was looking forward to didn't appear. As soon as the crystalline ice spear left her hand, it silently disappeared into thin air, its whereabouts were completely unknown.

Angel! The Demoness of Despair's eyes narrowed as black flames suddenly surged from her body, spreading ailments in a bid to ignite everything around her and causing a large-scale fire.

At that moment, her body trembled in a strange manner, and she froze on the spot.

She saw her left hand disappear, one centimeter at a time, as it rapidly spread upward in an unstoppable fashion.

In her eyes, the beautiful and lifeless eyes of the woman opposite her were dark and serene, as if there was a pure darkness concealed within.

"You aren't! You are…"

The Demoness of Despair's words came to an abrupt halt. Her entire body was like a sketch that had been quietly erased with an eraser, leaving no trace behind.

Her final gaze was filled with fear and despair. The seat she previously occupied was empty, as though she had never sat in it before.

The beautiful woman with the lifeless expression pulled the hood of her classical robe, and her lips moved almost imperceptibly as her figure instantly disappeared.

…

On the outskirts of Empress Borough. On a trackless public carriage.

Triss was sitting quietly in the corner, wearing a veiled hat.

She didn't flee with the help of the river by going straight to the Tussock River, nor did she head for the nearest railroad to catch a train, as everyone thought she would.

Her choice was to return to Backlund.

Only in this city with a population of over five million, with all sorts of hidden factions and numerous Beyonders, would they be able to help her escape the subsequent pursuit of the Demoness Sect!

At this moment, she felt tense, mentally, constantly wary of the terrifying old butler, Funkel.

Suddenly, her head spun.

When her vision returned to normal, she found herself having magically left the public carriage and was standing on the muddy road outside.

Trissy's pupils contracted rapidly as she looked around cautiously.

Then, she saw a black-hooded figure in a classical robe, and she noticed the black eyes hidden in the shadows.

For some reason, it was as if Trissy had returned to being an infant, so weak to the point that she couldn't put up any resistance at all.

Cold sweat dripped from her forehead, and although her legs were trembling violently, she was unable to move.

This is the scariest enemy I've ever faced… Even the high-ranking Demoness I previously met didn't give me such a feeling… Am I going to die here… Is this finally going to end after I persisted in escaping despite failing so many times… A deep sense of despair and uncontrollable sadness filled Trissy's heart, making her feel as if she had plunged into her deepest nightmare.

Suddenly, a dim blue light flashed before her eyes, removing her "curse" of being unable to move.

Trissy looked forward again, but there was no longer any traces of that extremely terrifying figure. Everything that happened just now seemed like the most realistic illusion.

But when Trissy lowered her head, she was surprised to find that the sapphire ring on her left pinky had somehow shattered, losing all of its brilliance.

Crack. Crack. Crack. The remains of the ring and the gem fell off one after another.

…

Klein dodged and rolled around the collapsed stone pillar and the heavily injured Mr. A, who was in the process of healing, and he ran for the entrance opposite him.

As for the characteristic fragments which were slowly gathering from the remains of the Master Key, he didn't even take a glance at them, afraid that he would give Mr. A enough time to stop him.

He was well aware that even if he had all his mystical items and was well-prepared, he wouldn't necessarily be a match for the Shepherd, not to mention the fact that he was only equipped with Azik's copper whistle and three types of Beyonder bullets. He didn't even have a single match left.

Even though Mr. A was seriously injured, Klein didn't dare to take the risk. He had heard that the Rose Bishop, the Sequence prior to Shepherd, was extremely proficient in flesh magic. Its healing ability was in no way weaker to his ability of transferring his wounds.

Creak!

He pulled open the heavy door.

The natural light outside shone in, and the clouds in the sky were tinged with a thin yellow, and the sun was pale and dim.

Klein rushed out and found that he was in the middle of a mountain. He was surrounded by towering mountains that made the area extremely hidden.

Tap. Tap. Tap. He frantically ran and wasn't even taking the mountain trail. Instead, with his skills as a Clown, he ran down the steep slope, occasionally tumbling, and occasionally swinging up with the help of trees.

Splash!

He heard the crashing of the river. It was up ahead, just below him!

But at that moment, a strong gust of wind blew over, sweeping towards his back.

Klein made a prompt decision. His knees buckled and he rolled to the side.

Sou! Sou! Sou!

The location where he was originally standing and the direction he was moving in had a deep ravine carved out by the wind blades.

Mr. A dropped out of the wind, his body still draped with a cape squirming with fresh blood.

He pointed with his finger, and immediately, chunks of flesh flew out and swelled up in midair before suddenly exploding.

Boom!

Drops of blood and bits of flesh flew in every direction as Klein cartwheeled with his hands, dodging most of it before finding shelter behind a huge tree.

The projectiles bored bloody holes through the huge tree. Traces of corrosion began spreading in every direction from the affected area.

Back when Klein was running, he had already loaded his revolver. He was about to raise his hand and shoot Mr. A in the eyes when he saw a deep darkness appear within them.

All of a sudden, Klein knew that, although the scenery around him hadn't changed at all, he had been forcefully dragged into a dream.

He had once killed a Nightmare, a Nightmare at least… Klein maintained his consciousness and saw Mr. A phase to his side in a manner inconsistent with logic, turning into a blood-red blanket that enveloped him in a manner that couldn't be escaped from.

You want to rely on nightmares to scare me to the point of stopping my heart? A thought flashed in Klein's mind and he responded.

This was his dream. The lucid him could conjure anything!

Thus, a pure and dazzling golden sun appeared. Clear and blazing flames ignited everything in its surroundings in an instant.

Klein imagined the scene when he first saw the Eternal Blazing Sun during the dream divination!

Almost at the same time, he left the dream and heard a muffled grunt.

Mr. A took a step back, two streams of blood running from the tip of his nose.

The robe formed from flesh and blood began to slowly flow as though it was melting.

Pa!

Klein snapped his fingers and ignited the trees about thirty or forty meters away.

Beneath his feet, the long-withered weeds caught on fire, and the soaring flames enveloped his body.

Mr. A's originally unmanly beautiful face suddenly turned even more beautiful and feminine. A crystalline and weightless ice spear materialized in his hand as he threw it towards the burning trees a few dozen meters away.

As soon as Klein jumped out of the flames, his pupils reflected the transparent tip of the spear.

The tip of the spear became bigger and clearer, filling his eyes.

Klein threw himself to the side as his body became covered with a thin layer of frost.

The transparent spear then extinguished the flames, allowing the thick layer of ice to quickly spread in every direction.

Klein, who was still in midair, suddenly curled up into a ball, turning his body upside down.

He stretched out his left hand and lightly pressed on the layer of ice. He once again rose into the air and left the cold world. However, the skin on his palm was frozen at the point of contact; this resulted in him tearing off his skin with a ripping sound.

Rolling to his feet, Klein reached into his pocket and pulled out a self-made Slumber Charm.

As he was about to say the incantation, his nose suddenly started to itch and he sneezed.

Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!

His head ached and he kept sneezing, leaving him with no strength to fight back.

I fell sick? I became infected by some sort of ailment? The moment Klein realized this, he felt countless threads that were difficult to be seen by the naked eye twirl around him, wrapping him up like a mummy in a certain sense.

He wasn't unfamiliar with this kind of experience. He knew that this was the Beyonder powers of a Demoness of Pleasure.

Back then, he had relied on the use of charms to cause all parties to fall into a deep slumber. Then, relying on his uniqueness, he escaped the effects of the charm. But now, Mr. A had maintained a distance of about 20 meters.

However, Klein was no longer just a Clown. The fingers he could still move snapped and made a crisp snapping sound!

In an instant, all the "spider silk" around him was ignited, as if it had turned into a giant torch.

Klein had just jumped out of the scarlet flames when he started sneezing again, which was then followed by a fit of violent coughing. This automatically prevented the use of many of his Beyonder powers.

At this moment, the feminine gentleness of Mr. A's face disappeared, adding a little more dignity to his loftiness.

He stretched out his right hand and clenched it lightly. Klein suddenly had an inkling that if he ran, he would only be running in circles.

Mr. A, who was wearing a blood-red robe, revealed a cruel smile. An ancient book that was transparent and illusory appeared in front of him.

An ethereal, high-pitched voice rang out, "I came, I saw, I record."

Achoo! Cough! Cough!

Klein wanted to hide, but he was powerless. At that moment, he experienced, in an unprecedented manner, the power of a Shepherd. It was truly worthy of being called the most comprehensive, most flawless, and most powerful Beyonder Sequence under the level of a demigod! Even if he hadn't made any preparations, with many mystical items being unusable, for him to be suppressed to such a state without being able to fight back, it implied that there were many problems.

Chapter 479: The Inexplicable Smile

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The old butler, Funkel, was fleeing across a barren field in the wilderness.

He had lost his hat, his neatly combed gray hair hung in an unkempt manner, and the outer layer of his clothes were muddy.

Huff. Puff… He paused for a moment, panting as he looked behind him. He felt slightly more at ease when he realized that there was no one around.

However, when he turned his head and was about to change direction, he discovered that a figure had appeared in front of him.

The figure wore a hooded, classical robe; its face was dull and expressionless while its black eyes were hidden in the shadows.

Funkel's pupils constricted. He opened his mouth and tried to say a word in ancient Hermes, but he was surprised to find his nose disappearing and his voice gone.

A look of despair suddenly appeared on his face. Then, like a stain in the void, his entire body was seemingly wiped clean with a cloth, and not a single trace was left behind.

…

Achoo! Achoo! Cough! Cough!

In the face of Mr. A's looming attack that spelled certain death, Klein was infected by an illness. His headache and fever made it difficult to use Flame Controlling or Flaming Jump.

At that moment, he couldn't even produce Air Bullets.

Fear of the unknown took over his mind. The Clown's intuition for danger "saw" himself split into the smallest particles of light, perhaps taking away any chance of him reviving.

In an instant, Klein reached into his pocket and took hold of an object.

This was his answer to the most dangerous situation he could think of ahead of time!

No matter what kind of situation he was suddenly placed in, a Magician had to be prepared to a certain extent, so that he wouldn't panic in the middle of a battle.

Klein took out Azik's copper whistle, brought it to his mouth, and blew hard over the sneezing and coughing!

Without any stirring motions, he saw, through his Spirit Vision, a geyser of white bones spewing out as they rapidly sketched out the appearance of a huge messenger with black flames burning in its eye sockets.

And at that moment, the pages in the book in front of Mr. A stopped flipping, and the distant voice suddenly came to a halt.

A misty green brilliance surged out, and the bone messenger, that was almost four meters tall, cracked and crumbled into countless specks of pure light.

Behind it, the force that had caused Klein to go in circles was the first to crumble. The figure in the black double-breasted frock coat was then enveloped, turning into a statue made of yellow sand which was blown away by the wind.

However, the scattered sand were white spots, as if they were shreds of paper that had been torn to the limit.

Klein's figure appeared on the other end, genuflecting and coughing uncontrollably.

If it wasn't for the skeleton messenger blocking the blow for him, then he wouldn't have been able to suppress his ailments and use Paper Figurine Substitute!

And after that ordeal, his illness worsened to the point of him losing almost all forms of resistance.

At that moment, Mr. A, who had failed in his fatal blow, suddenly coughed in a way more violent manner than Klein.

He fell to the ground in pain, blood frothing at the corners of his mouth.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

He coughed out a pile of fragmented organs and squirming flesh. Then, with great difficulty, he opened his mouth and attempted to lick them back into his mouth to forcefully consume them.

What's going on? Klein was stunned for a moment.

But that didn't stop him from resisting a cough, raising his right hand, and aiming the revolver at Mr. A's head.

At this moment, he vaguely understood something—while Mr. A's injuries could be treated with his flesh and blood magic, the impact and backlash on his mind and spirituality couldn't be nullified through this method.

Mr. A should've switched to another Beyonder power to slowly heal the damage to his Spirit Body, but he was driven by hatred. He forcefully suppressed his injuries and chased after Klein; thus, after continuously using the Beyonder powers that exceeded what his body could bear, his situation worsened and the latent problems flared up.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Klein fired all the bullets in the revolver. Bronze, pale gold, and silver beams of light quickly crossed the short distance between the two of them.

Unfortunately, he was unable to control his sneezing and coughing during the process. The bullets didn't all hit Mr. A, with only two of them hitting Mr. A, and one of them drilling through his forehead and the other into his torso.

Sizzle!

A sizzling sound rang out, but Mr. A's head seemed to be boneless—it was just a combination of a pile of rotten flesh. This caused the pale golden-colored bullet to sink deep into his body. It quickly came to a stop and failed to deal lethal damage. All it did was emit a golden radiance of sunshine.

Mr. A lifted his neck, and the flesh around the hole in his head writhed wildly.

He wasn't dead, not even seriously injured.

He was once the tenacious Rose Bishop!

Seeing this, Klein made up his mind. He turned around and ran, no longer making any attempts to attack. As for Mr. A, he was panting, and when he lowered his head again, he licked the bits of fragmented flesh and organs he had coughed up.

Amidst the wheezing and coughing, Klein ran in random directions, occasionally rolling.

Finally, he fled to the edge of a cliff which was over fifty meters away.

Beneath the cliff, the slightly turbid Tussock River surged incessantly. It was wide but calm.

Klein didn't hesitate and put strength into his legs and jumped.

He plummeted, feeling the weightlessness of a free fall.

His body tore through the air as he attempted to adjust his posture in midair, transforming into a standard diving motion.

Cough! Achoo!

His ailment stopped his three and a half flips midway, and the positioning of his body and palms failed to be in the correct stance.

With a splashing sound, he struck the water surface, reducing into a thin piece of white paper.

The paper figurine quickly became moist, half sinking and half floating.

At the bottom of the river not far away, Klein's figure formed as it shivered a little.

His clothes were already soaked, as were the remaining paper and bills in his wallet.

After distancing myself from Mr. A, the ailment has abated… Klein thought with a lingering sense of fear.

If his coughing and sneezing hadn't subsided at the last minute, he wouldn't have even had the time to use Paper Figurine Substitutes, and he would've suffered internal bleeding and instantly died. Of course, if he died in such a manner, he felt that he had a chance of being resurrected.

While kicking his legs to keep himself afloat, Klein created an invisible, hollow tube in his mouth, allowing it to rise out of the water and bring him fresh air.

This was the Underwater Breathing performance of a Magician!

Klein sucked in with his mouth and blew out through his nose, not letting the turbid gas he breathed out pollute the pipe by directly entering the water.

At the same time, he stealthily made his way to the shore, hoping to avoid Mr. A's subsequent pursuit.

Unfortunately, this isn't a city. The powers of a Faceless cannot be used effectively. Otherwise, once I break away, Mr A definitely wouldn't be able to find me… While swimming, Klein instinctively had this thought.

This resulted in him thinking of a problem, and that was the wind-controlling Beyonder power Mr. A previously had.

Generally speaking, this belongs to the pathway of the Lord of the Storms… For this pathway, apart from the wind, there's also water, which means they're especially effective for underwater activities… Underwater activities… Shepherd is so all-rounded and terrifying! Klein's heart almost stopped beating as the thought flashed through his mind.

He suddenly swam upstream, no longer concealing himself!

As soon as he emerged from the water and approached the shore, he saw Mr. A's devilishly beautiful face, covered with fish scales and gaping gills.

Mr. A, who was floating on the water surface in his bright red robe, had the corners of his mouth curled up. His eyes were filled with true hatred.

Fight! I can only fight! I'll try to hold out until the Church's reinforcements arrive or for Mr. Azik to escape his predicament! Without hesitation, Klein, who had gained reprieve from his ailments, raised his right hand, ready to snap his fingers.

At this moment, the two of them simultaneously looked at the sky as though it was an instinctive reaction.

A beautiful feminine figure was quickly outlined.

The figure was hooded and in a dark robe, its eyes looking blankly at Mr. A.

Then, Klein saw Mr. A being quickly erased as though he had become a pencil drawing, wiped out rapidly with an eraser, leaving nothing but his look of indignation and despair amidst the blankness and madness etched into his mind that was the only audience present.

This… What kind of level is this!? What kind of strength is this! The moment Klein thought about it, he saw the figure turn to look at him.

It was a beautiful face, but it didn't have the slightest expression. Its black eyes were deep and dark, devoid of spirituality.

Just when Klein's heart was beating rapidly, thinking that he would disappear without a trace, without a clue as to whether he could be resurrected, the corners of the woman's mouth slowly lifted into a smile.

A smile? Klein was stunned, wondering if he was dreaming.

Before he could regain his senses, the figure instantly faded and disappeared from where he was. The sound of water splashing around him echoed in the air.

Puzzled, Klein swam to the shore and got out of the water. Looking around, he found that this place was unusually remote. There were no roads or living people. Only the slightly turbid river water continued flowing in an unchanging manner.

It ended just like that? Mr. A died just like that? Who was that lady just now? She was so strong that Mr. A didn't even have time to scream… And she smiled at me. Smiled… Maybe it's a "She?" However, other than figures at the level of the Pope, how could there be angels walking on the ground from the three Churches. Furthermore, a figure on the level of Pope obviously wouldn't be in Backlund… Klein couldn't believe that he was out of the danger zone.

After a moment of contemplation, he finally felt a sense of reality.

She should be a powerhouse sent by the Churches. She arrived in time and successfully saved me.

If I hadn't informed Miss Justice ahead of time, then they might not have taken such timely action. There would've been a high chance of me dying at Mr. A's hands, with the possibility of resurrection being a question…

Yes, it also has to do with me persisting on, dragging on the battle all the way until this moment.

Not bad at all…

With a sigh of relief, Klein began to look for a way out.

…

"Exile!"

The man with the gold mask pointed at Azik Eggers and threw his figure into the void, a spot no one knew.

Then, he turned around to face Ince Zangwill, who was looking at him with a frown.

"There's no time, we can't finish him off that quickly! We have to hide this area as quickly as possible. Do you want the Church to discover our secret?" The man with the gold mask growled angrily.

Ince Zangwill put away his doubts, nodded, turned to 0-08 which had stopped writing, and grabbed it.

His figure was faltering somewhat, and by his legs were piled pants that had nearly been ripped apart in the middle of the battle.

…

Inside Red Rose Manor, Prince Edessak sat by the full-length windows with an abnormally vacant look in his eyes.

"Your Highness, please hurry." A voice sounded beside him.

Edessak's eyes turned spirited as he took a breath, picked up the revolver on the table, and pressed it against his temple. Inside it was a bullet that obliterated Spirit Bodies.

He turned his head and looked longingly out at the golf course and the strolling horses.

Bang!

He pulled the trigger.

Chapter 480: Honest Rewards

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

In the hall where the stone pillars had collapsed, a group of Nighthawks wearing black windbreakers and silk hats appeared around the altar. The person leading the team was the Archbishop of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, Saint Anthony Stevenson.

"It was disrupted by someone?" he muttered without stopping and directly walked to the stone door that led to the interior.

Rich darkness surfaced as the stone door silently opened. Saint Anthony led some of the Nighthawks in as they delved deeper.

Along the way, they didn't discover a single guard or anything of value. It was as if this place had been forcefully swept clean.

Finally, they reached a room in the deepest recesses, but there was nothing there but walls and stone pillars. The blue door of light which was there when Klein left was long gone.

The lanterns in the Nighthawks' hands suddenly lost their light, and darkness enveloped the room.

When everything returned to normal, they found that the surrounding walls had somehow melted away. However, there were no hidden doors or tunnels behind them. It was either a thick layer of mud and rocks or the corridor they came from.

Saint Anthony was silent for more than ten seconds before saying, "Try divination.

"Search the vicinity."

…

Achoo!

Walking through the pathless cliffs and forest, Klein was saddened to realize that he had apparently really fallen sick.

The residual effects of Mr. A's Beyonder powers, combined with the fact that he was drenched during winter, gave him the shameful cold.

However, he didn't dare to stop to collect dry twigs to light a fire and dry his clothes and money. He was afraid that the Beyonders of the Church would find him.

Even though he had already gained the endorsement of Stanton Isengard from the Machinery Hivemind and obtained the status of a semi-official, this was a matter involving the Primordial Demoness's awakening and the True Creator's descent—two cases of the highest order. Therefore, he was bound to be subjected to rigorous investigations, have tea sessions with the Machinery Hivemind, Mandated Punishers, and Nighthawks to recount the whole process actively or passively.

There were two major pitfalls to this. One was that he knew people inside the Nighthawks, and although Detective Sherlock Moriarty looked quite different from the martyred Klein Moriarty, making it impossible to identify him via photographs, he had zero confidence if things were done face to face. Two, because of similar pathways, the Church of the Evernight Goddess wasn't very friendly to people and things related to Death. Back in the Pale Era at the end of the Fourth Epoch, Death had fallen under the siege of the seven gods, and Sherlock Moriarty had "summoned" a powerful descendant of Death at the critical moment. This wasn't a problem that could be explained away easily.

That high-level powerhouse was rushing to deal with Ince Zangwill and 0-08, so she didn't have time to bother with a friendly small fry like me. However, I can't be careless as a result. I should flee when it's necessary!

Yes, I can write to the Machinery Hivemind when I have a chance, stating the second reason as to why I have to temporarily leave Backlund. This way, I might still have a chance to work with them in the future. Of course, I have to secretly observe to see if the Machinery Hivemind has any strong enmity towards any descendants of Death… I wonder how Mr. Azik is doing…

Heh heh, perhaps Sherlock Moriarty might be dead in the official announcement. He sure lived up to his name and identity…

As quickly as possible, Klein tried to find a small town and blend in with the crowd while enduring the alternating fever and cold.

Only in human society could the Faceless's powers be fully expressed.

The woman who was working with Mr. A, uh—she should be a Demoness. She went to East Borough… From the looks of the ritual, there must've been a large number of deaths over there. I wonder… With the spiritual intuition of a Seer, Klein's heart suddenly felt heavy.

At this moment, all the colors in front of his eyes turned saturated, as if they had been sprinkled with oil by a deity.

The feeling was over instantly, and Klein found himself far away from where he had been, with the bronze-skinned, soft-featured Azik Eggers appearing next to him.

"Mr. Azik, are you unhurt?" He couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

"I am," Azik replied frankly before smiling, "but to an Undying, this isn't a big problem."

Klein calmed down and asked, "What happened to Ince Zangwill and 0-08?"

"Ince Zangwill is still alive, and he still wields that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact," Azik said as he walked.

Klein tried hard to follow him as he couldn't help but sigh.

"What a pity."

"Don't worry about it; he was severely injured," Azik solemnly said. "And most importantly, we know that he was secretly cooperating with the royal family, so we don't have to worry about not being able to find him in the future. This way, you can focus on improving yourself, and I can also try to go to a few places that I've recalled, to awaken more memories. Heh heh, your luck isn't bad. I've been secretly observing the people from MI9 and the royal family to confirm Ince Zangwill's whereabouts. One of the most important places was Red Rose Manor, so I've always been wandering around the area. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to rush over to save you so quickly."

Klein immediately felt a little awkward when this was mentioned.

"Mr. Azik, aren't you puzzled as to why I didn't die?"

"I often wake up after entering a coffin as well. This is something that I previously recalled," Azik said with a smile, completely unfazed by the matter. "And in my incomplete memory, although it's rare in others, it's not without precedent."

He often wakes up after entering a coffin… Often? Klein suddenly realized that the problems that he was worried about were nothing in the eyes of a real powerhouse.

As expected of an Undying of the Death pathway… Well, Mr. Azik had mentioned that he had been in this Sequence for a long time, which means that he has long advanced… Klein thought for a moment, then he asked with concern, "Mr. Azik, Would Ince Zangwill discover that I'm Klein Moretti?"

He was afraid that Ince Zangwill would take revenge on Benson and Melissa.

"Unlikely. At most, he would believe that we knew each other long ago, or that you're my… informant, if we use the terms that the police uses." Azik recalled and said, "But that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact might notice it, but you don't have to worry."

"Why?" Klein pressed.

It was unknown what Azik had remembered, but his expression suddenly turned strange. It was as if he wanted to laugh, but at the same time, he felt horrified.

"That Grade 0 Sealed Artifact will keep attempting to write down the death of its owner. This is likely to be intrinsic to it and cannot be changed. Therefore, I doubt it would actively divulge such important information that can put Ince Zangwill at a tremendous advantage during such a critical moment—unless it involves something that it cannot avoid or explain."

Seeing that Mr. Azik was so sure about it while producing such strong justifications, Klein exhaled. It was as if he had recovered a little from the cold.

Seeing this, Azik added, "It's best if you leave Backlund for the time being. Ince Zangwill might use that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact to seek revenge again, using your fake name.

"As long as you aren't in Backlund, it should be fine. That Grade 0 Sealed Artifact's sphere of influence doesn't exceed a large city."

Just as I had predicted, there's a limit to its sphere of influence… Otherwise, Ince Zangwill could've easily hidden in a small town in the Southern Continent and leisurely arrange the fates of all his targets without having to worry about anyone finding him… Klein asked after some deliberation, "A short trip to Backlund for a day or half a day is fine, right? With the premise that I've changed my identity and looks."

With that, he rubbed his face, instantly reverting back to his appearance back in Tingen.

Azik's eyebrows twitched, and he nodded.

"It's fine."

He turned his head and looked into the distance at the spot that he could no longer see.

"It seems like I've been targeted by a powerful existence of the Church of the Evernight Goddess. It's best if you don't stay by my side, or you might be implicated. Heh heh, they're very interested in the Beyonder characteristics related to Death."

"Yes, I plan on heading out to sea. While I digest my potion, I'll be seeking mermaids. It's a condition for my advancement," Klein explained his plan.

Azik tilted his head.

"Mermaids? Could a mermaid in the form of a dead spirit work? I can find at least four."

"Probably… not…" Klein reached out and wiped his forehead.

His intuition told him that it was definitely impossible, but he planned to divine it above the gray fog to confirm it.

Without mentioning the dead mermaid again, Azik said, "If there's anything, then contact me through the messenger."

Messenger… Klein suddenly felt guilt-ridden and ashamed.

"I-it died in my battle with Mr. A. It saved my life."

Azik gave him a glance, shook his head, and laughed.

"Don't worry about it. As long as it isn't killed by a powerhouse at the level of an angel or via some special method, then as long as the Underworld still exists, it can slowly be reborn there.

"And before that, I have similar messengers numbering… Uh, I don't know how many there are either."

It sounds like there's an army of such powerful and humongous messengers? Klein turned agape, unable to say a word.

His shame faded, and he asked curiously, "Mr. Azik, where is the Underworld, or in other words, hell?"

"The spirit world. To be precise, it's a special place that the ancient Death created in the spirit world." Azik didn't hide the truth.

Ancient Death? That should be the ancient god, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace… So the Underworld belongs to the spirit world. No wonder the basic structure in mysticism is the real world, the spirit world, and the astral world. It doesn't contain the Underworld and the Abyss… Klein was about to ask a question when he suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Mr. Azik, I obtained a Card of Blasphemy created by Emperor Roselle. It contains the secrets of High-Sequence Beyonders. I believe it can help you recall more things. However, you'll have to wait a while. It's hidden in Backlund."

Klein didn't mention the bounty, fearing that it would reveal the Tarot Club's secret, the mysterious space above the gray fog, and Miss Justice; therefore, he could show his gratitude towards Mr. Azik for his help and sacrifice, in this tactful way.

Aziz looked at him in surprise, but he ultimately said nothing. He nodded and said, "When you get it back, have the messenger bring it to me. I'll immediately return it to you after I study it. Or you can copy the contents and pass it to me."

He paused for a moment as if he had thought of something. Then, he took out a glove that was so thin that it looked like it was made of human skin from his pocket and handed it to Klein.

"I've already awakened the relevant memories, so I no longer need it. Heh heh, it's an item that that pirate rear admiral left behind. I've placed some seals on it so that it wouldn't be hungry. However, every time it's used it will require you to use a human's flesh and soul to feed it; otherwise, it will devour you."

… Creeping Hunger? The remains of a particular Shepherd? Klein immediately recalled what the glove represented.